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City of Glendale Water & Power
141 N. Glendale Avenue, Level 4
Glendale, California 91206
The Grayson Power Plant, named after the City's first Chief Engineer and General Manager Loren Grayson, has been faithfully serving the electrical power needs of the City of Glendale since 1941. Prior to 1937, the City purchased all of its electrical power from the Pacific Light and Power Company (today known as Southern California Edison). That same year after evaluating the current and future electrical needs of the Glendale community, the City not only entered into an agreement to purchase hydroelectric power from the Hoover Dam Project but also made a decision to establish a City owned and operated steam powered electrical generating facility. Construction of the new facility began in 1939 and the first generating unit went into service in 1941. Since that time the facility has been expanded to meet the growing needs of the residents and businesses in the City and has proven to be an invaluable asset to both GWP and more importantly to their customers. However, over time due to age and normal degradation of the equipment, the reliability, efficiency and cost effectiveness of the facility has steadily and continuously declined. Recognizing the tremendous benefit that locally generated power has provided our City and seeing the long term benefits that would be derived from replacing the existing units not only from an efficiency and cost perspective but also an environmental quality standpoint, the City has embarked on a process for the potential replacement/repowering of the existing facility.
The primary objective of the Project is to replace the aged, inefficient, inflexible, and unreliable generation units at Grayson Power Plant with approximately 260 megawatt (MW) net modern power generation that is efficient, reliable, operationally flexible, and that can easily integrate into the City of Glendale’s power system. This Project would ensure system reliability, balance renewable imports, and meet the power needs of the City in the event that the importing capacity from external transmission lines is not available to serve its load.
The City is proposing to replace all the existing generation facilities and their related infrastructure, with the exception of Unit 9, by removing existing aboveground and belowground equipment, and facilities and building new generation facilities. This includes demolishing the Grayson Power Plant Boiler Building, replacing Cooling Towers 1 through 5, and replacing the generation units, designated as Unit 8A and 8B/C. The existing generation facilities (with the exception of Unit 9) would be replaced with a combination of combined cycle and simple cycle gas turbine generation units.
The primary objective of the Project is to replace the aged, inefficient, inflexible, and unreliable generation units at Grayson Power Plant with approximately 260 megawatt (MW) net modern power generation that is efficient, reliable, operationally flexible, and that can easily integrate into the City of Glendale’s power system. This Project would ensure system reliability, balance renewable imports, and meet the power needs of the City in the event that the importing capacity from external transmission lines is not available to serve its load.
Past Meetings/Events
April 10, 2018
6:00 p.m.
Glendale City Council Meeting on the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
Location:
Glendale City Council Chambers
613 E. Broadway, 2nd Floor
Glendale, CA 91206
April 2, 2018
4:00 p.m.
Glendale Water & Power Commission Meeting on the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
Location:
Glendale City Council Chambers
613 E. Broadway, 2nd Floor
Glendale, CA 91206
February 6, 2018
6:00 p.m.
Update to Glendale City Council on Draft Environmental Impact Report
Location:
Glendale City Council Chambers
613 E. Broadway, 2nd Floor
Glendale, CA 91206
October 19, 2017
6:00 p.m.
Community Meeting about the Draft Environmental Impact Report
Location:
GWP Utility Operations Center Training Room
800 Air Way
Glendale, CA 91201
October 16, 2017
6:00 p.m.
Special Meeting of the Glendale Water & Power Commission on the Draft Environmental Impact Report
Location:
Glendale City Council Chambers
613 E. Broadway, 2nd Floor
Glendale, CA 91206
March 6, 2017
7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Meeting with the Homeowners Coordinating Council
Location:
Verdugo Hills Council Boy Scouts of America
1325 Grandview Ave.
Glendale, CA 91202
February 21, 2017
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Meeting with the Chamber of Commerce
Location:
Chamber of Commerce Offices
701 N. Brand Blvd. Suite 120
Glendale, CA 91203
January 25, 2017
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Meeting with the Pelanconi Homeowners Association
Location:
Grayson Power Plant Training Room
800 Air Way
Glendale, CA 91201
January 12, 2017
Scoping Meeting for the Environmental Impact Report
Location:
Giffith Manor Park
1551 Flower St.
Glendale, CA 91201
Overview
The City of Glendale, Department of Water and Power (City) is proposing to repower the Grayson Power Plant (Project), located in an industrial area of the City of Glendale at 800 Air Way, Glendale, California 91201, just northeast of the Interstate 5 and Highway 134 interchange. A majority of the facilities located at the Grayson Power Plant, with the exception of Unit 9 (a simple cycle peaking plant built in 2003), were completed between 1941 and 1977, and are proposed to be replaced with more reliable, efficient, flexible, and cleaner units and related facilities and infrastructure. The City is proposing to replace all the existing generation facilities, units, and their related infrastructure, with the exception of Unit 9, by removing existing aboveground and belowground equipment, and facilities and building new generation facilities. This includes demolishing the Grayson Power Plant Boiler Building, replacing Cooling Towers 1 through 5, and replacing the generation units, designated as Unit 8A and 8B/C. The existing generation facilities (with the exception of Unit 9) would be replaced with a combination of combined cycle and simple cycle gas turbine generation units.
The Project would be located entirely within the existing Grayson Power Plant, an operating power plant. The site is bounded to the south by the Verdugo Wash and Highway 134, to the west by the Los Angeles River and Interstate 5, to the north by commercial properties, and to the east by commercial and residential properties. The approximate coordinates of the Project are 34° 09’ 19” N and 118° 16’ 42” W.
On July 23, 2019, at a regularly scheduled meeting, the Glendale City Council unanimously approved the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan and adopted the motions and resolutions that will allow the City to commence preliminary design, environmental reviews, permitting, detailed financial analysis, and contract negotiations for the preferred clean energy portfolio.
The Integrated Resource plan will provide a diverse, clean energy portfolio of generation, transmission, and distributed generation assets. The portfolio will allow GWP to provide its customers with reliable, affordable, and environmentally sustainable power and will enable GWP to transition to a 100% clean energy future. The proposed portfolio includes:
The proposed programs include:
In addition, the City Council directed staff to continue to seek additional resources while proceeding with this plan in order to further reduce Glendale’s carbon footprint.
Purpose and Need
The proposed repowering of the Grayson Power Plant is necessary to meet current and future City energy needs and California Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirements. Pursuant with Senate Bill 350 that was signed into legislation in October 2015, the RPS requires retail sellers and publicly owned utilities including GWP to procure 50 percent of their electricity from eligible renewable energy resources by 2030. The City serves its power system load through a combination of renewable energy sources (both local and imports), non-renewable imports, and local generation. The City system’s single largest contingency is nominally 100 megawatts (MW) based on imported power through the maximum City allocation on the 500 kilovolt (kV) Pacific Direct Current (DC) Intertie (Path 65).
In order to meet retail power load obligations, Glendale Water and Power (GWP) relies on a combination of both local and remote generation, as well as long-term power purchase agreements and spot market purchases from a variety of suppliers throughout the Western Electricity Coordination Council (WECC) territory, including the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). Natural gas for generation is supplied by several sources, which include gas reserves in Wyoming, a pre-paid gas commodity contract, and the daily gas market. GWP also uses transmission and generation rights to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities and to transact with counterparties in the wholesale market. As a result of recent state mandates, GWP is becoming more involved in short and long-term markets for renewable energy and carbon allowances. GWP operates within the Balancing Area of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
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The Proposed Biogas Generation Project
Landfill gas is considered a renewable energy resource. Currently this landfill gas is located at an existing Class III nonhazardous landfill that has been accepting waste since the 1960’s. This waste is naturally decomposing and producing landfill gas that includes methane, a greenhouse gas that is combustible and can be put to beneficial use. This will help the City of Glendale achieve the State of California mandate that every utility shall provide a certain portion of renewable energy to their electric generation portfolio. By converting landfill gas to renewable energy the City can receive 100% renewable credit for the energy produced. The City will produce and receive 100% renewable credit by installing generation units that can directly burn the landfill gas at the project site.
Landfill to Gas Energy Project
Existing Scholl Canyon Landfill Gas to Energy Project
In 1994, the City of Glendale developed a gas-to-energy project at Scholl Canyon landfill. The project captured the naturally-occurring raw landfill gas (LFG) that results primarily from the decomposition of organic waste deposited in the landfill. The LFG, by state and local regulatory mandate, must be controlled in such a manner as to eliminate the venting to the environment of this volatile heat trapping gas that has high methane content. This gas is often referred to as a greenhouse gas or GHG. The accepted control method is the combustion of the raw LFG in a flare, in an engine, or in a turbine, all of which dramatically reduce the overall toxicity and global warming impacts of methane.
Prior to 1994, the LFG at Scholl Canyon was combusted exclusively in the permitted flares operating at the landfill, which are managed by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County under a Joint Powers Authority agreement with the City of Glendale. When the gas-to-energy project was developed, the LFG was transmitted via a 5.5 mile pipeline to the Grayson Power Plant where it was blended with natural gas and used as fuel in three older, converted boilers (Units 3, 4 & 5) to generate electricity. The flares have remained in place and are permitted and operable and act as a secondary point of delivery/control for the gas. Over the years, the flares have been used, albeit less frequently than before, during maintenance periods, emergency shutdowns, and equipment failures at Grayson. During the past three years, these types of occurrences have been more frequent as Unit 3 was taken out of service due to age and there have been several major repair projects on Units 4 & 5.
In the course of compiling the Environmental Impact Report for the proposed Grayson Repowering Project, one particular study area that was included was an evaluation of air quality. The City assessed the emissions from the proposed Grayson facility as well as from the existing facility for a comparison. The results indicated that the emissions from the existing, older and mechanically-degraded Grayson generating units presented a higher than acceptable health risk. The results are included in the EIR on page 9.96 (Table 9-7) and were presented in City Council meetings on February 6 and April 10, 2018. The City promptly notified the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) of the findings and based on the findings, the City proactively implemented a risk reduction measure and transferred the combustion of the LFG to the secondary location at the landfill flare station. The City continues to work with SCAQMD on the future handling and control of the LFG.
For more information on the Proposed Biogas Renewable Generation Project click here.
| RFP for an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) consultant and an Owner's Engineer (OE) | February 2014 | Completed |
| Award Contract for an IRP consultant and OE | August 2014 | Completed |
| Develop and Complete an IRP | June 2015 | Completed |
| Decision Point: Determine ultimate configuration of Grayson Power Plant | June 2015 | Completed |
| Engineering for permitting and environmental assessments | July 2015 - TBD | In Progress |
| RFP process and selection of Bond Counsel and Financial Services Advisor | February 2016 | Completed |
|
Decision Point: RFP for Power Island Equipment (PIE) |
January 2016 | Completed |
| Decision Point: Award a Limited Notice-to-Proceed (LNTP) Contract for PIE | November 2016 | Completed |
| RFQ for Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractors | February 2017 | Completed |
| Approval of a Project Labor Agreement (PLA) | February 2017 | Completed |
| RFP issued for an EPC contractor | August 2017 | Completed |
| Draft Environmental Impact Report Comment Period | September 18, 2017 - November 20, 2017 | Completed |
| Options Presented for City Council Consideration: Council Recommended to Look at Alternatives | April 10, 2018 | Completed |
| Clean Energy RFP Issued | May 4, 2018 | Completed |
| Clean Energy Proposals Due | August 3, 2019 | Completed |
| Evaluation of Proposals | Aug. 2018 - June 2019 | Completed |
| Integrated Resource Plan Community Meetings | April 10 - 18, 2019 | Completed |
| Integrated Resource Plan Survey Available Online | March 3 - April 22 2019 | Completed |
| Grayson Repowering Proposal & IRP Presented to the GWP Commission | July 1, 2019 | Completed |
| Grayson Repowering Proposal & IRP Presented to the City Council | July 23, 2019 | Completed |
| Glendale City Council Approves Limited Notice to Proceed for Grayson Repowering Plan | July 23, 2019 | Completed |
| Request for Bid for a Demolition contractor | TBD | |
| City Council Meeting for EIR Certification | TBD | |
| CEQA Process Complete, City Council adopts FEIR | TBD | |
| Decision Point: Approve Project and Proceed with Debt Issuance | TBD | |
| Award All Contracts | TBD | |
| Start of Demolition | TBD | |
| Start of Construction | TBD | |
| Commercial Operation |
TBD |
|
The following are the EPC proposers that were selected to receive the Request For Proposals for the Proposed Grayson Repowering Project:
Haskell Corporation
Contact:
Joe Spink
801-939-3869
jspink@haskellcorp.com
Kiewit Power Constructors Co.
Contact:
Patrick Sparks
720-880-8221
patrick.sparks@kiewit.com
MasTec Power Corp.
Contact:
Michael DonMoyer
303-390-3066
michael.donmoyer@mastec.com
PSC Primoris - ARB, Inc.
Contact:
Phill Reed
949-454-7129
preed@prim.com
The EPC RFP is scheduled to be released in August, 2017.
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See the links below for Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and the Draft EIR (at the bottom of the page)
You may also view the Final EIR in person at the following locations:
City of Glendale Community Development Department Planning Division
633 East Broadway, Room 103
Glendale, CA 91206
Downtown Central Library
222 E Harvard St.
Glendale, CA 91205
City of Glendale Water & Power Administration
141 N. Glendale Ave., Level 4
Glendale, CA 91206
The Glendale City Council discussed the Final EIR on April 10, 2018
FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT SECTIONS
COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS, AND GLOSSARY
4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS - 4.1 CATEGORIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT FACTORS
4.2 AESTHETICS
4.3 AIR QUALITY
4.4 GEOLOGY AND SOILS
4.5 GREENHOUSE GASES
4.6 HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
4.7 HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY
4.8 NOISE
4.9 TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC
4.10 TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES
4.11 CUMULATIVE IMPACT ANALYSIS
9.1.1 TOPICAL RESPONSES
9.1.2 RESPONSE TO COMMENTS DURING PUBLIC MEETINGS
9.1.3 RESPONSES TO COMMENTS
10.0 MITIGATED MONITORING AND REPORTING PLAN
APPENDIX A INITIAL STUDY AND NOTICE OF PREPARATION
APPENDIX C AESTHETICS TECHNICAL REPORT
APPENDIX D AIR QUALITY TECHNICAL REPORTS
APPENDIX E GEOLOGY AND SOILS TECHNICAL REPORTS
APPENDIX F GREENHOUSE (GHG) EMISSION INVENTORY
APPENDIX G HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TECHNICAL REPORTS
APPENDIX H PRELIMINARY GRADING AND DRAINAGE PLANS
APPENDIX I NOISE TECHNICAL REPORT
APPENDIX J TRAFFIC TECHNICAL REPORT
APPENDIX K RESPONSE TO COMMENT ATTACHMENTS
Click here to view the whole Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Grayson Repowering Project. The DEIR is also broken down by sections below.
The original 45 day review period was from September 18, 2017 through November 3, 2017. The City of Glendale extended the review period until November 20, 2017.
Click here to view FAQs for the Grayson Repowering DEIR.
Click here to view the Power Point from GWP's Special Commission Meeting on the DEIR.
Click here to view the DEIR Notice of Availability
Click here to view the DEIR Notice of Availability for the comment period extension
DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT SECTIONS
4.0 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS
4.1 CATEGORIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
4.2 AESTHETICS
4.3 AIR QUALITY
4.4 GEOLOGY AND SOILS
4.5 GREENHOUSE GASES
4.6 HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
4.7 HYDROLOGY AND WATER QUALITY
4.8 NOISE
4.9 TRANSPORTATION AND TRAFFIC
4.10 TRIBAL CULTURAL RESOURCES
4.11 CUMULATIVE IMPACT ANALYSIS
APPENDIX A INITIAL STUDY AND NOTICE OF PREPARATION
APPENDIX C AESTHETICS TECHNICAL REPORT
APPENDIX D AIR QUALITY TECHNICAL REPORTS
APPENDIX E GEOLOGY AND SOILS TECHNICAL REPORTS
APPENDIX F GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS INVENTORY
APPENDIX G HAZARDS AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS TECHNICAL REPORTS
APPENDIX H PRELIMINARY GRADING AND DRAINAGE PLANS
APPENDIX I NOISE TECHNICAL REPORTS
APPENDIX J TRAFFIC TECHNICAL REPORT
Click here to view the Clean Energy RFP Bidders Conference Webinar
Click here for more information and to download the RFP
Issued: May 4, 2018
RFP Response Deadline: 5pm, Local Time, August 3, 2018
Originally commissioned in the 1940s, the Grayson Power plant is well past its uselful life and needs to be repowered in order to meet the current and future energy needs of the City of Glendale. A repowering project would replace the aged, unreliable, inefficient, and high maintenance equipment at the Grayson Power Plant with new, efficient, faster-starting, and more environmentally-responsible generation technologies. A repowering of the Grayson Power Plant will achieve the following benefits:
The added urgency of this project comes from the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) Rule 1135. Rule 1135 requires GWP to commit, by June 30, 2022, to a plan to bring the power plant units into compliance with current day emissions limits. No later than June 30, 2022, we must inform the SCAQMD whether we will replace or modify older units to meet current day emission limits, or if we intend to shut them down by the deadline: December 31, 2023. We can upgrade Unit 9, and modify or replace Units 8A and 8BC to meet the rule, but we cannot economically or feasibly modify units 1-5 to meet Rule 1135’s requirements
The 2018 Final Environmental Impact Report for the Grayson Repowering Project (2018 Final EIR) proposed a 262 MW repowering project that would replace Units 1-8 at the Grayson Power Plant with four new units: two combined cycle units and two simple cycle units. This project is sized to meet all required contingencies (i.e., to account for the loss of GWP’s two largest sources of power), with a 346 MW peak load. The project would be permitted to run with enough operating hours such that GWP could operate in “islanded” mode if necessary – i.e., separated from the outside world – providing up to 262 MW.
In 2018, the City Council did not take action on the 2018 Final EIR, but instead directed GWP to look for a greener alternatives. In response, GWP issued a Clean Energy Request for Proposals (RFP), evaluated and modeled the proposals received through the Clean Energy RFP, and identified a cleaner portfolio to meet the City’s energy needs. That portfolio was presented to the City Council in GWP’s 2019 Integrated Resource Plan on July 23, 2019. The 2019 Integrated Resource Plan are found here.
New Repowering Project Alternatives
Through the Clean Energy RFP and the Integrated Resource Planning process, GWP has identified two new alternatives to the Grayson Repowering Project as presented in the 2018 Final EIR. These two Alternatives are identified in the Partially-Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report as “Alternative 7” and “Alternative 8.” Both of these proposed new alternatives include about 95 MW of thermal generation and 75 MW/300 MWH of battery energy storage. Both are compliant with SCAQMD emissions limits and have 80% less energy production and fuel usage than the originally proposed repowering project.
Alternative 7 – Wartsila/ Tesla Project Alternative
Alternative 8 – Unit 8A/ 8BC Refurbishment Plus Battery Storage
Unit 8A will be converted to a simple cycle similar to Unit 9
Unit 8B remains a combined cycle, but could start up much more quickly
4. All other old and obsolete equipment would be replaced improving reliability, reducing emissions, and allow the units to startup within 10 minutes (as compared to hours in the past)
What is being proposed?
The 2018 Final Environmental Impact Report for the Grayson Repowering Project (2018 Final EIR) proposed a 262 MW repowering project that would replace Units 1-8 at the Grayson Power Plant with four new units: two combined cycle units and two simple cycle units. This project is sized to meet all required contingencies (i.e., to account for the loss of GWP’s two largest sources of power), with a 346 MW peak load. The project would be permitted to run with enough operating hours such that GWP could operate in “islanded” mode if necessary – i.e., separated from the outside world – providing up to 262 MW.
In 2018, the City Council did not take action on the 2018 Final EIR, but instead directed GWP to look for a greener alternatives. In response, GWP issued a Clean Energy Request for Proposals (RFP), evaluated and modeled the proposals received through the Clean Energy RFP, and identified a cleaner portfolio to meet the City’s energy needs. That portfolio was presented to the City Council in GWP’s 2019 Integrated Resource Plan on July 23, 2019. The 2019 Integrated Resource Plan are found here.
New Repowering Project Alternatives
Through the Clean Energy RFP and the Integrated Resource Planning process, GWP has identified two new alternatives to the Grayson Repowering Project as presented in the 2018 Final EIR. These two Alternatives are identified in the Partially-Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report as “Alternative 7” and “Alternative 8.” Both of these proposed new alternatives include about 95 MW of thermal generation and 75 MW/300 MWH of battery energy storage. Both are compliant with SCAQMD emissions limits and have 80% less energy production and fuel usage than the originally proposed repowering project.
Alternative 7 – Wartsila/ Tesla Project Alternative
Alternative 8 – Unit 8A/ 8BC Refurbishment Plus Battery Storage
Unit 8A will be converted to a simple cycle similar to Unit 9
Unit 8B remains a combined cycle, but could start up much more quickly
4. All other old and obsolete equipment would be replaced improving reliability, reducing emissions, and allow the units to startup within 10 minutes (as compared to hours in the past)
5. Click here to see a visual simulation of this alternative
This page is under construction. Check back soon.
Opportunities for Public Review
•Environmental Review | City of Glendale, CA (glendaleca.gov)
•Partially Recirculated Draft EIR is also available at libraries, and GWP offices by appointment only due to COVID-19.
How To Submit Your Comment
In writing to Community Development Department, Planning Division
The Partially Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report (PR-DEIR) will be issued in early August 2021 for a 60-day comment period. Click here to review this document and learn how to submit a comment. The City will be conducting public meetings about the proposed Grayson repowering at the following times:
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Date/ Time |
Meeting(s) |
Topic |
Link for Live Stream |
How to Participate |
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Monday, August 2, at 4pm |
GWP Commission |
Update on Grayson Repowering Project |
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Thursday, August 5, at 5:30 pm |
Sustainability Commission |
Update on Grayson Repowering Project |
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September 9, XX pm |
Special Joint Meeting of GWP Commission and Sustainability Commission |
Overview of Partially-Recirculated Draft EIR |
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Early November (dates TBD) |
GWP Commission and Sustainability Commission |
GWP Commission and Sustainability Commission Recommendations re Final EIR
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November 16, at 6 pm |
City Council |
Hearing on Final EIR |
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Meeting dates and times are subject to change. More meetings will be added. For more accurate dates and times please check the Agendas and Posted Materials here.
To see the Grayson Repowering Project Timeline click here.
To see any project presentaitons pertaining to the meetings above, click here.
City of Glendale Water & Power
141 N. Glendale Avenue, Level 4
Glendale, California 91206